


Sing of Virtue Undefiled

by Cookiemonster2000



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Siren/Sailor AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 16:24:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15465390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookiemonster2000/pseuds/Cookiemonster2000
Summary: A lone siren is surprised to hear that her own song, in a world of depraved sex, damaged hearts, and material values, reflects something greater.It has never donethatbefore.





	Sing of Virtue Undefiled

**Author's Note:**

> Late update. Fell behind. Internet sucks. Accept this humble offering.

Kankri's face was hit with a spray of salty green-blue seawater as the ship crashed through a huge wave. He smiled grimly.

"Today's the day, Meenah."

"What the shell are you goin' on about, buddy?" his captain, leaning on the railing beside him, demanded.

"We're passing by the cliffs of the sirens tonight." he responded. "Many sailors have spoken of how they lost valuable men to the singing women... That means, Meenah, that we are all going to be in grave danger."

She rolled her eyes. "All except you, right?"

"No."

Her head popped up, her face shocked. "Say what? I trout you were the _strongest willed_ man on board, the most _chaste_ person--"

"Chastity doesn't help. Strength of will is lost against the sirens," Kankri said seriously. "You didn't know that?"

Meenah shrugged. "I thought they seduced ya with sex. You should be fine about that, right?"

He flushed. "For your information, I am not a naturally asexual person, _Captain._ I have sworn to chastity in order to protect myself from the dangers of entering a relationship when emotionally immature, and am waiting for a person to come along who shares my values, which, by the way, are more important than being physically pleased by--"

"Yada, yada, yada." She spit over the railing. "Thought you grew out of that stupid rantin' habit."

He blushed harder. "It's... a tough habit to break. But understand me when I say while that these sirens lure you in with false promises, those promises can tell you exactly who you are. They can tell you your deepest, darkest desires. Stripped away are all the walls you've built up around yourself, all the extra things you pretend make up yourself. You get to see exactly what makes you tick."

She stared at him, uncomprehending. "What are you sayin'?"

"I'm going to listen to their song, Meenah." He turned to her with a fierce look. "I need to know what makes me tick."

 

The whole crew was below deck, wax plugging up their ears. Meenah and Cronus had had _entirely_ too much fun stringing Kankri to the mast. He called for them to make it a little less tight, but Cronus just gestured towards his ears and grinned hugely.

Meenah, before putting the wax in her ears, had made sure that Kankri wanted this.

He did.

The truth was, he thought, as the waves crashed against his face and soaked him to the bone in the moonlight, he needed to know what his deepest secrets were because he was entirely unable to see them for himself. He needed to have it handed to him on a silver platter, he needed to know what others thought of him, what he was made out of. Was he really what he believed he was, or could be?

Was he what he wanted to be, what he believed that, deep down, he was? Or was he nothing more than what the others saw in him, every day? Was he nothing more than a whiny, cowardly, annoying, child, or could he possibly be something else?

Strong, or weak?

He would know soon. It was too late to turn back.

 

Within the minute, he began to hear sounds from the cliff-face. The cawing of birds and crashing of waves wasn't the only noise.

When he caught sight of a breathtaking, dark-haired woman standing on the cliff-face, he knew true fear. 

Her brilliant green eyes flashed as her eyes met his. A drop of sweat rolled down his brow, and she hadn't even opened her mouth yet...

Not only could they sing of your deepest, darkest desires, but they could change form, as well, into the most perfect image imaginable.

The most beautiful woman in the world--the _siren,_ it was a _siren,_ Kankri--leered down at him with eyes full of scorn. She tossed her long, black hair and opened her mouth...

He was tearing at his bonds, kicking and screaming and fighting for his life in an instant, he needed to get to her, he _needed_ to be off this ship, and on that cliff-face, right _now._ Deep wounds cut into his arms and chest and legs as he strained against his bonds, strained with all his might regardless of the searing pain coming from everywhere, because he would die, it would be a fate worse than death, to miss this, to miss her--

If he was capable of reason, he would have noticed the woman's face falter. He would have seen her confusion at singing, not of sex and pleasure and material gain, but respect, dignity, truth, kindness, and leadership. She was singing of the deepest, truest, most virtuous desires a man could have, and she was singing of what he wanted more than anything.

She was singing, for once, of true companionship, of someone to love him in sickness and in health, and someone he could love, without depending upon his emotions to tell him to desire them.

She was singing to someone deeply flawed, but with the most wonderful wishes and dreams than she had ever heard herself sing of.

 

She stopped singing.

 

When Meenah and the crew popped up above deck, all they saw was a lone woman in a ragged dress, angrily untying the collapsed man at the mast.

"Oh my cod! What are you dune here??" she hissed, yanking out the wax and rushing over to the woman.

She fell backwards as those sharp, slitted green eyes turned on her. "Stop. No. Release man."

"What?? There's--lady, how did you get on my boat? There's sirens, you've got to plug your--"

"Shut fuck up." the lady growled. "No siren. Only native. Release poor man. Idiots."

Meenah glared at the woman for a few seconds, then pulled out her knife. "Whatevah, bitch. Why's he all scratched up if he wasn't trying to escape?"

She laughed desirively. "Escape? Course. Yelling, want help. No siren, only native, dangerous."

The captain shifted guiltily. "But... we head legends of sailors gettin' lost here."

The lady shook her head rapidly. "Not siren! Arrows! Killed! Trespassing! Bitches, fuckups, morons!"

"You reely know a lot of curse words, for someone with such broken English," Meenah growled as Kankri slowly opened his eyes.

"Meenah... I... heard it..." he began softly.

"Hear what?" the woman's shrill, annoying voice began again. "Siren song? No siren. Only fuckers, want get shot."

"Hey, good morning, loudass." Meenah clapped her hands. "Yeah, no sirens, apparently, just fucking annoying as carp native ladies trying to untie you so ya don't get shot with arrows. Apparently the natives were trying to shoot ya."

"But..." he argued weakly. "I heard it."

"Hallucanation poison. Arrow. Idiot." The woman snatched an arrow from her raggedy satchel. "No siren. Go to sleep."

"But you're too beautiful to just be some random woman!" Kankri cried. "Why did you jump on the ship? I was going to come, I was going to go to you!"

The woman shot him a sarcastic look, then turned back to Meenah, miming "cuckoo", waving her fingers in circles around her ears. The captain sighed.

"All right, guess that was a fuckin' waste of our time. Thank you -- what's your name?"

The lady paused for a moment.

"Damara."

"Well, looks like we've sailed past your cliffs," Meenah noticed, staring back at the sunrise. "You certainly risked a lot by jumping aboard, and just to save this lunatic. Want us to head back to drop you off?"

"No!" Damara cleared her throat. "No. Thank you. Stay. Go where you."

"Suit yourself, I guess. Can't promise it'll be easy, though," she responded. "You're gonna have to help with sailing, and anything else ya can lend a hand in. Plus, deal with _this_ bastard."

Meenah gestured towards the unconscious Kankri sprawled on the deck.

Damara smiled fondly at him. "I will be fine. Thank you."

**Author's Note:**

> Am I the only one who admired Kankri for his attempts? For his failures?? He's not perfect by any means, but his arrogance and pride was mostly due to his age and the fact that he never got a chance to really mature??? He truly wanted what was best for his friends and thought he was the one to have to lead them, and his motivations were?? PURE???? He's a great character and I feel like the fandom doesn't do him justice and just makes him into a trigger warning joke and an "insulting commentary" on SJWs?????
> 
>  
> 
> I mean you can disagree but let me have my little moment here for God's sake 
> 
>  
> 
> (heh)


End file.
